At PayPal, our mission is to democratize financial services. A big part of that mission is empowering entrepreneurs and businesses of all backgrounds – regardless of size, sector or location – to thrive in today’s digital economy. That is why when we heard about the
Rise of the Rest Tour, we knew that PayPal had to be a part of it.
Now in its sixth tour, Rise of the Rest is focused on funding startups in the heartland of the US. With Steve Case at the helm, Rise of the Rest rents a bus and visits communities across the country to visit and learn from local startups and bring together local policy and business leaders to think about ways to better support more innovators like them. Steve also personally funds several of these startups.
The Internet has changed the calculus of who can build a game changing startup business by eliminating traditional barriers like distance, tools/resources, and networks. Breaking down these barriers has enabled businesses outside major cities and those located on the coasts to reap the economic benefits of an open economy.
At PayPal, we believe we have a strong role to play in fostering inclusive economic opportunity for all businesses. Enabling merchants with the latest technologies and solutions so they can expand their businesses and maximize all of the opportunities available in the digital age has been a core focus since our inception. We recently conducted some
research looking at PayPal small businesses across the US using the Internet to conduct cross-border trade, for example. What we found is that small businesses in the heartland of America were almost just as likely to export (78% of heartland merchants compared with 80% of coastal merchants exported in both 2015 and 2016). Also, heartland exporters had slightly higher growth rates than those located on the coasts (33.6% for heartland and 32.1% for coastal).
Moreover, our Braintree platform – used by world renowned startups like Airbnb and OpenTable – is a key partner heartland startups like Jane.com and Brand Yourself, which was actually part of the Rise of the Rest bus tour stop in Lancaster, Pennsylvania. Brand Yourself CEO, Patrick Ambron, described Braintree as an excellent tool to help him scale his business and simplify the payments processing for a fast growing startup firm that has far more important things to worry about.
Additionally, our PayPal Working Capital small business financing product has also been incredibly helpful for startups and small businesses looking to scale. We found in
our research that the PayPal Working Capital disproportionately go to banking deserts, to low-and-moderate income businesses and to younger startup businesses. Nearly 25 percent of PPWC loans in 2014-2015 were disbursed in the 3 percent of counties that lost ten or more banks since the 2008 financial crisis. Nearly 35 percent of PPWC loans go to low-and-moderate-income businesses, compared to 21 percent of retail bank loans. 61 percent of PPWC loans go to entrepreneurs and young firms that have been in business for less than five years.
Small- and medium-sized businesses are the engine for jobs and growth in the US – but with startup activity at a generational low, we need to support startups in every geography and industry to maintain and enhance economic dynamism across the country. That’s why we at PayPal are proud to partner with Steve Case and his team to continue to democratize entrepreneurship through this year’s Rise of the Rest Tour.